On Oct. 2, 2024, an annular solar eclipse will pass over parts of the Pacific Ocean, southern Chile and southern Argentina.
During an annular solar eclipse, the moon drifts in front of the sun while it's slightly farther from Earth than during a total solar eclipse, so it doesn't completely cover the sun's disc. Instead, it leaves a distinct ring of light around the moon, which is why an annular solar eclipse is also known as a "ring of fire" solar eclipse.
At the point of greatest eclipse in the Pacific, the moon will obscure 93% of the sun's center, creating a "ring of fire" visible for 7 minutes and 25 seconds.
More info: https://www.eclipsewise.com/solar/SEprime/2001-2100/SE2024Oct02Aprime.html
Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much. [Oscar Wilde]
Text Source: Based on Likutei Sichos Vol 28 Lubavitcher Rebbe
The people criticized G-d and Moshe: "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the desert? There's no bread and no water, and we're sick of this unwholesome (manna) bread." G-d sent venomous snakes upon the people, and they bit the people. Many people of Israel died. The people came to Moshe and said "We have sinned! For we have spoken against G-d and against you! Pray to G-d that He should remove the snakes from us!" Moshe prayed on behalf of the people. [Chukas 21:5-7]
Even after the people criticized Moshe heavily, resulting in a punishment of venomous snakes, we nevertheless find that Moshe did not bear a grudge and prayed for the people to be saved. "From here we learn" writes Rashi, "that if a person asks you for forgiveness you should not be cruel and refrain from forgiving."
This principle is recorded by Rambam in his legal Code, the Mishneh Torah, in three places and there are a number of variations which need to be explained.
1) In Laws of Personal Injury, Rambam describes the method and process of forgiveness. "Once the attacker has asked forgiveness once, and then a second time, and we know that he has repented for his sin and he has abandoned the evil that he has done, then one must forgive him". However in Laws of Teshuvah these details are omitted. Instead, we are told that "When the sinner asks him for forgiveness, he should forgive him with a full heart and a willing spirit." Similarly, in Laws of Moral Conduct: "If the person returns and aks him for forgiveness, then he should forgive."
2) The person who forgives is given a different name in each of the three laws. In Laws of Moral Conduct he is called the "forgiver"; in Laws of Teshuvah a "person", and in Laws of Personal Injury he is called the "injured party".
3) One further detail is that in Laws of Teshuvah a person is told not to be "difficult to appease". Why does Rambam use this phrase, and why only in Laws of Teshuvah?
The Explanation
Forgiveness can be carried out on three levels:
1) When one person sins against another, he becomes liable to be punished for the sin that he committed. In order to be relieved of this punishment he needs to appease both G-d and the person that he sinned against. Therefore, through forgiving a person for his sin, one alleviates him from a Heavenly punishment.
2) A higher level of forgiveness is to forgive not just the act of sin but the sinner himself. i.e. even though one person may forgive another for a particular bad act (thus relieving him from being punished) there still may remain a trace of dislike for the person in general. Thus, a higher level of forgiveness is to forgive the entire person completely for his wrong, so that there remains no trace of bad feeling between them.
3) The highest level of forgiveness is an emotion that is so strong and positive that it actually uproots the sins of the past, making it as if they never occurred at all. After such a forgiveness, the sinner will be loved by the offended party to the very same degree that he was loved before the sin.
It is these three types of forgiveness which Rambam refers to in his three different laws:
1) In Laws of Personal Injury, Rambam discusses the laws of compensation for specific damages that one person causes another. Thus, when he speaks there of forgiveness for a sin, he is speaking of the forgiveness that is required to relieve the sinner from the punishment of that specific sin. Therefore, Rambam spells out the precise method of forgiveness that is required to achieve atonement ("when the attacker has asked forgiveness once, and then a second time, and we know that he has repented for his sin etc. then one must forgive him"), because only by following this precise method can we be sure that the sinner will be acquitted of this punishment.
To stress the point further, Rambam speaks in terms of an "injured party" and the "forgiving" of the injury, as we are speaking here of a specific sin and its atonement.
2) In Laws of Moral Conduct, the focus is not on the actual sin and its atonement, but rather, the character of the forgiver. And, if a person is to be of fine character, it is insufficient to forgive a person just so that he will be freed from punishment. Rather, one should forgive another person completely (i.e. the second level above). Therefore, in Laws of Moral Conduct, Rambam stresses that "When one person sins against another, he should not hide the matter and remain silent" for it would be a bad character trait to harbor resentment, keeping one's ill feelings to oneself. Therefore "it is a mitzvah for him to bring the matter into the open".
Thus, we can understand why Rambam omits here details of the process of forgiveness, for the main emphasis here is not the atonement of the sinner, but the required character traits of the victim.
To stress the point further, the person is termed here not as the "injured party" but as the "forgiver".
3) In Laws of Teshuvah, Rambam is speaking of the highest level of forgiveness which is required for a person to achieve a total "return to G-d". For this to occur, the forgiveness must be done in a manner that is so deep that one uproots the sin totally; as if it had never occurred at all. This is because total forgiveness is a crucial factor in the sinner's overall return to G-d, as Rambam writes: "Sins between man and his fellow man... are not forgiven until... the person has been asked for forgiveness..."
Thus, Rambam stresses here that "A person should be easily placated and difficult to anger, and when the sinner asks him for forgiveness, he should forgive him with a full heart and a willing spirit" (despite the fact that these details are more appropriate to Laws of Moral Conduct), because the goodwill of the victim is a crucial part of the sinner's teshuvah. Only when the victim is completely forgiving - to the extent that the sin is uprooted, as if it never existed - can we be sure that the sinner has returned to be as close to G-d as he was prior to the sin.
To stress this point further, Rambam writes "It is forbidden for a person (not an "injured party" or "forgiver") to be cruel and difficult to appease" - i.e. here we are not talking merely of the minimum forgiveness that is required to relieve the sinner from his punishment. Rather, here we are talking of the victim as a "person". And one can hope that he will not merely "forgive" his fellow who hurt him, freeing him from punishment, but that he will allow himself to be "appeased" completely, thereby helping his fellow Jew to come to a complete Teshuvah.
After Nasrallah, Israel must liquidate AMALEK the snake: IRAN and its allies in gunsight ?
Translation of French to English
Hassan Nasrallah was killed yesterday B"H, 83 bombs, each one ton, he and other commanders . It's written that when the wicked die there's joy . On the other hand it's written When your enemy falls don't be joyous -- that is written about Jewish enemies but when goyim enemies, real enemies, who who have spilled Jewish blood fall, it is permitted to be joyous.
In previous classes we've already talked about Zohar parshat Balak p212b.:
On the 25th of Ellul that will fall on a Shabbos, will die a leader of Rome .
How can we say that Nasrallah who's been killed on that day is a leader of Rome? Because Nasrallah, as the great kabbalists in Israel have said, is part of Amalek. Hamas too is Amalek. (Jews are commanded to go into war with them and annihilate them.) Rome is Esav and the grandchild of Esav is Amalek.
Original version of the Zohar: it will happen on a Friday that falls on Ellul 25 but the commentators say that there can't be a Friday that falls on Ellul 25 because then Yom kippur will fall on a Friday and that is forbidden. So they've correctefdthe version of the Zohar and have said it's a Shabbat. So it's interesting because they killed Nasrallah on a Friday but a little before sunset so it was already Shabbat in Israel . So the Rav says he is very happy that everything corresponds.
Re. The star that has to appear - see previous class, is a Nova, same name as that festival of Oct 7th 2023. The Jewish people are compared to olives, when you press them the good comes out. So that festival of Hamas .. there's never been so many Jews who are doing teshuva.. it's phenomenal!
Result: Hashem is doing miracles for us that we haven't seen almost since the Exodus from Egypt. We do teshuva and Hashem saves us and in this week's parsha that we've read this Shabbat : you'll return to Hashem and He will bring all the curses that he wanted to place on you on your enemies Baruch Hashem.
What's next? Two options:
1. As that Zohar says from that Shabbat Ellul 25 there will be 70 days of war in the world. Can happen very easily. eg. The FM of Iran has said last week that if Israel continues to annihilate Hezbollah Iran won't have any choice than to attack Israel and this will have consequences that can be worldwide. Is logical: before the FM of Iran spoke the US gov had already said that if Iran will attack, the US will attack too. If Iran attacks it will have the support of Russia and China and if the US will react, we risk getting into a world war.
Why does the Rav think that they will attack: R Yehoshua Eshel of Apta texts from 250 years ago: in the end of days the nations will want to do war with each other and they'll see that the only one who'll benefit from it is Israel, and if Iran will attack Israel, that's great because the US will attack Iran and that is the end and Geulah, so the nations won't attack but the Rav Yehoshua answers that from Heaven they will be dragged into this war until their end, and he says that we can accept that from his mouth as if it comes from a prophet.
So, understand that what's happening today is miraculous.
The US refuses that
1) we annihilate Hamas
2) we annihilate Hezbollah ie. the method of divide in order to reign better.
The US doesn't want a war and Biden, who always asked for a ceasefire, now says nothing anymore because of the upcoming elections. He's very close to Trump in the statistics and who will make the difference? The Jewish votes ! So now that he knows it's in his interests to be pro Israel he's given a green light for us to kill Nasralla, he's given eight billion dollars to Israel, etc. Bibi is happy and now we can go into war and attack our enemies till Nov 4 at least.., Hashem's hand.
So normally Iran will attack Israel, the US will attack too, the end and Moshiach will come. When?
Two options: a) Tikunei Zohar and Vilna Gaon brings that in Sefer Even Shema chapter 11: On Rosh Hashanah it will be the end of the decree of Hashem's enemies . It can happen very fast . If for example Iran attacks tomorrow...
b) same Zohar that speaks re the king that will die on Shabbat 25th of Ellul, see above: 60 days of world wide war, a king whose I'd we ignore will rise and will wage war left and right - all the nations, it will bea big balagan and afterwards : earthquake in Jerusalem, a cave will open, fire will come out of it and Moshiach will reveal himself. Approx on 5th of Kislev.
So, says Rav Ron Chaya, we have to do teshuva and also wake up others , explain them what will happen and tell them to do teshuva . Yehezkel 36: Hashem will return us to the Land etc.. We see all this happening today so wake up dear friend. When Moshiach will be here not everyone will be able to survive (note: the Rebbe of Chabad, Menachem Mendel Schneerson disagrees with that) , it will be too late. I hope that the bar will be very low but there will be a bar - so return, do teshuva.
R Yanuka said but the Rav hasn't verified it, that he hopes to be in his sukkah this Sukkot with Moshiach. We hope be'ezrat Hashem. Could be that we're mistaken but everyone understands that the things are moving forward, don't be blind .
Baruch Hashem amen and amen.
Many thanks to Dave for the English translation below.
English translation as spoken in the video above by Rav Ron Chaya
So we're at war with Hezbollah which is Arabic for G-d's troops.
Nasralla is Arabic for the winner in G-d's Name. May their names be erased. In 48 hours 50% of their weapons don't exist anymore, almost all the commanders have been killed, the story of the beepers: 500 blinded, 1000's injured, many dead doubled because they are giving wrong numbers. ie. We're heading towards victory .
Why is it so urgent for me to talk to you? Because the Israeli Chief of Staff has said that the IDF hasn't used all it's forces, and yesterday Halevi has said that they were now going to increase their attacking power. Hezbollah have 250 thousand missiles, now half is gone but they have not yet used their precision missiles which are way more dangerous than the regular missiles that they're using now to attack Haifa, Tel Aviv, Akko etc. and US gov members have written that these missiles are Iranian missiles that were put in Lebanon to be used if Israel were to attack Iran in order to destroy their atomic centres. These same members of the US government have said that Iran is waiting in case their two platforms, ie Gaza in the south and Hezbollah in the north , now only Hezbollah remains.. the US gov members wrote that if Iran will see that Hezbollah will start to disappear, Hezbollah won't accept that and will start using these missiles. In this case, say these members of US gov, the US will have to attack Iran. But if Iran will start attacking Israel, Israel won't have a choice but to intervene which is why the US has, in the last days, brought many troops to the region . Since Halevi has said yesterday that the IDF will increase it's intensity we are getting there for sure. In a few days or a few hours Hezbollah will have lost, Iran won't let it happen and it will attack , the US will attack, and when Iran attacks it will probably do so with the help of China, Russia, Korea, and the chances are big that we're then heading to a world war. That's the geopolitical analysis.
Gemara, Tractate avodah zarah: two nations will last till the messianic era: Rome and Persia. Rome ie.
not Rome of Italy but the continuation of the western civilization, ie. America. And chances are big that according to the Zohar that I cited this coming Shabbat or Friday afternoon the 'king of Rome will die' , as written, could be spiritually only, like he loses his power in Heaven.
Tosfot: impossible that Persia will last till the messianic era because there's a Gemara in Tractate Yoma page 10: Persia will fall in the hands of Rome, Tosfot replies: it will happen just before the messianic era/Moshiach. When Persia will attack Israel, as the US wrote, see above, they'll have to intervene... it's the end, Moshiach comes!
So understand that we are there be'ezrat Hashem! Everything aligned: the era, the texts, ..
At this weekend must appear a new star in the sky, people wrote to the Rav after his last class wherein he also talked about the Star: an invisible asteroid will circle around the moon for 60 days, not so significant. However there's a Nova , a small star that will explode and will be visible from earth , next to the polar star, and this star exploded 3000 years ago in the era of the giving of the Torah so that now it can appear, and the Zohar the Rav cited last time, p212 Parsha Balak: Ellul 25, ie. this coming Shabbat a new star will start shining in the sky, for 70 days there will be wars in the entire world, and Moshiach will come. That is one of the options.
Other options that we hope: Tikunei Zohar: on Rosh Hashanah the decree of the enemies of Go-d will end. It can go very rapidly, see part one above about the wars, in a few minutes everything can end. It seems inevitable to the rav. In his last class he has explained why according to Rav Steinman it can happen by Hanukkah but, it can also happen before Hanukkah!
...
So, we don't know exactly when it will be.
Rumor but the Rav hasn't verified it: the Yanuka, hopes to be in his Sukkah this Sukkot with Moshiach be'ezrat Hashem. So, it's very very close. It's up to us to make a very big teshuva, after Moshiach will arrive it won't be possible anymore; To tell everyone listen you don't lose anything, at least do teshuva now for the holy days because maybe Moshiach will come now, maybe we'll be in a world war, get moving a bit !!
Now, what will now happen in Israel. The real enemy of Israel is the erev rav, ie. Jews that have a special soul that want the end of the Jewish people and they have the mastery over all key positions in Israel: justice, media, army etc. And the Tikunei Zohar talks a lot about them, says when Moshiach comes, the erev rav will disappear at once but if Iran will attack, there will be a big earthquake, big changes in Israel .
Other option: Moshiach comes in peace, without any spilling of blood, with peace and happiness, that's what we're hoping and praying for.
In any case, we've always talked about the coming of Moshiach, now that's it we're there and re geopolitics I just talked about, (see part one above) it's all written: Midrash: R Yitzhak said the year when Moshiach comes, the king of Iran is in conflict with the king of Arabia, ie Saudi Arabia, are Sunites and Iran are Shiites, they hate each other extraordinarily. The king of Arabia will consult ie ask advice from the west, by Edom. Arabia has a close alliance with America and they have no army, they have almost nothing. Have done some pact in the past with the Americans, who have committed to protect them .. from there the strong presence of Americans in the region presently. Boats, tanks, Marines etc.
The midrash continues: Iran returns and destroys the entire world. The Rav asks how possible? Reply: it's enough that Iran attacks the petrol fields of the Saudis and it's over: the stock market explodes, world wide economic crash and finish. .. midrash: and all the nations of the world fall on their faces, like contractions like a woman that gives birth and B'nai Yisrael too, .. panic... and Hashem says "my children don't fear, your time of redemption has arrived , everything I've done I've done for you, don't worry, everything will be alright." So we see now an attack by Iran that seems very very close..
So, what do we have to do? We've got to get moving, each one of us, and get others to move, and tell those who are far from the Torah that if they're at least progressing they may be saved because not every Jew(ess) will be saved (note from Dave: the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson disagrees with that, he said all Jews would be saved).
3000 years ago, when one saw a prophet he or she would pass away so/ but now who will be able to see Moshiach?! Merits are necessary!! I (Rav Chaya) think that Hashem will put the bar very low but there's a minimum you need to be at..If someone knows, his responsibility is bigger... We must tell our fellow "listen chances are that it's the end, don't do full teshuva, just one month, start to observe Judaism a little bit," maybe it will save him be'ezrat Hashem.
In Parshat Shelach, the incident of the spies is told over in great length, and we have the first historical record of the concept of praying by a grave site. Rashi mentions that Calev who was the representative of the Tribe of Yehuda goes to Chevron to pray by the graves of the Patriarchs, which later became included in the tribal portion of Yehuda. He was concerned that he may be enticed by his colleagues who wished to disparage the Land of Israel, and unlike Yehoshua who received a name change and specific prayers from Moshe, Calev needed to draw down his own blessings for strength and fortitude (see Sotah 34b).
While the Halachic commentators debate what exactly is permissible when interceding with those who have passed on, the Gemara (Ta’anis 16a) records the custom to go out on fast days to (Jewish) cemeteries and have those who have passed on to pray on our behalf. The Midrash (Sefer HaYashar Vayeishev Ch. 8) also records that Yosef prayed by his mother Rachel’s tomb when being brought down to Egypt in chains and that Ya’akov himself buried Rachel on the road to Bethlehem to enable her to pray on behalf of her children who would go into exile after the destruction of the First Temple (see Rashi to Bereishis 48:7). The Arizal writes that there exists a special energy at the grave of a Tzaddik and the Chasam Sofer equates the sanctity of a Kever with that of a Shule.
The Kitzur Shulchan Aruch (128:13) writes in the context of the custom of visiting a cemetery on Erev Rosh Hashanah, that it is important that we not direct our prayers to the deceased, but rather may it be in their merit that we receive blessings and success. He writes that were one to pray to the deceased directly, one may be in violation of the prohibition of ‘inquiring of the dead’, and perhaps connected to why we do not know were Moshe is buried today, due to the concern that it would become a shrine and potentially likened to necromancy.
The Zohar (Vayikra 70b) writes that when the world needs mercy and we are dwelling in pain, we go and notify those sleeping in Chevron and Hashem will do their desire and have mercy on the world. May we merit that all our prayers are answered and those who have passed on intercede on our behalf.
The Lubavitcher Rebbe would often answer requests by saying that he would pray for the person at the grave of his father-in-law, the previous Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak.
The following is extracted from "Not Just Stories" by Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski MD
Published by Shaar Press
Every person has a direct line with G-d, and we are not permitted to pray to intermediaries. Indeed, the propriety of prayers where we appear to be asking for blessings from angels or for their intervention on our behalf, is the subject of debate, and must be interpreted in such a way that does not violate our basic belief that we relate only to G-d as the One from Whom everything emanates.
Yes, there is also the concept of faith in a tzaddik, which is derived from the verse in Exodus [14:31] "They had faith in G-d and in Moses, His servant". The sages derived from this verse that believing in the leader of Israel is equivalent to believing in the Creator [Mechilta]. In addition, the Talmud states that if there is a sick person in one's household, let him go to a chacham [a wise man] to pray for his recovery [Bava Basra 116a]. Inasmuch as everyone has a direct contact with G-d and we do not work through intermediaries, why is the prayer of a tzaddik more potent that one's own prayer?
There are several ways in which we can understand the concept of faith in a tzaddik. First and foremost is that the opinion of a wise man, a tzaddik, as a Torah authority, must be accepted and followed even if we are in disagreement with it [Sifri, Deut 17:11].
There is also a concept of receiving a blessing from a tzaddik and this has its basis in a statement from G-d to Abraham "And you will be a blessing" [Gen 12:2] which the Midrash interprets to mean that G-d gave Abraham the power to bless people, and that gift has been given to other tzaddikim as well. Nevertheless, a person must understand that even though the tzaddik conveys the blessing, the origin of the blessing is G-d.
A woman once came to Rabbi Mordechai of Chernobel, pleading for a blessing to have a child. To the amazement of the bystanders, the Rabbi, who was exceptionally kind and benevolent, said brusquely to her "I'm sorry, I cannot help you". The woman left the room tearful and broken hearted.
Noting the bewilderment of his chassidim, Rabbi Mordechai said "Just wait a few moments, then go find the woman and bring her back here." The chassidim did as they were told and when the woman came back, the Rabbi asked her "What did you do when you left here?"
The woman replied "I turned my eyes to Heaven and I said "Dear G-d, the Rabbi refuses to help me. Now You are my only hope. Bless me that I have a child."
Rabbi Mordechai said to the chassidim "This woman believed that I had magical powers, and she was trusting in me rather than in G-d. When I refused her request, she placed her trust in G-d where it belongs. She will now be blessed with a child."
The primary function of a tzaddik is to assist people in the proper service of G-d, to help them recognize their character defects and show them how to do teshuvah.
The power of a tzaddik is in his strong belief in G-d, and anyone who has that strong a belief can bring about similar results. When the tzaddik prays for a sick person, for example, and says that G-d is the healer of the sick, his belief is so strong that it actually brings down the Divine healing upon the person. In fact, said Rabbi Mordechai, the prime reason for having a relationship with a tzaddik is to learn how to perfect one's belief in G-d.
Something that the RaMCHaL [Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto] writes about in his “Ma’amar Ha’Geulah” , an essay on Redemption written when he was 23-years-old, a book about the fundamental concepts of Redemption, the stages, etc.
Here’s what he writes:
In the beginning of time--so to speak--when the Jews left Egypt, the Divine energy of the sefirot--Divine forces that create realities - came down in a tremendous amount of Ohr--Light. The RaMCHaL calls it the “Sha’ar”--Gate. It was an opening allowing the Divine energy to come down, especially via the Beit Ha’Mikdash which was able to be the residence of the Shechinah--Divine Presence at an unbelievable level. That’s called the “Gateway.”
When the Temple was destroyed, however, G-D closed the Gate as part of the onesh--punishment to the Jewish people. But wait! If you close the Gate--meaning you don’t allow the flow of Divine energies of the sefirot--if you stop the flow or inhibit the flow, the Creation is destroyed. There has to be a continuous, persistent flow of Divine energy, Light, that comes into Creation in order for it to exist. Shut the Gate and it is the end of all Creation.
G-d shut the Gate but, before He closed it fully shutting off all the holy energy, He opened “Windows,” making “holes,” in a spiritual sense, so some energy comes down but not as an enormous expanse with great quantity. It’s coming down in a meager flow and that’s the energy we have as a result of our sins. That’s the concept of galut--exile, when the energy comes through Windows instead of an expansive, open Gate. This continues as the Jews sin.
The Windows begin to lower. It’s like a house with windows that are painted black but are open. As time goes on, they slowly shut until there is almost no light entering the house. As the galut--exile proceeds and worsens as the sins of the Jews get worse, the Windows keep descending. If they shut completely, the entire beriah--Creation dissolves, vanishes. As sin continues the Windows close until the light is a sliver of a slit. That slit will sustain the entire Creation. This is what the galut is and has become. Before the Window closes completely, the Gate opens and the energy of the sefirot comes through the Gate with collossal volume and power. That’s the geulah--Redemption. The RaMCHaL uses this analogy.
As the Windows close, that is the Darkness we see around us, the encroaching Darkness. Now we understand the concept of the “Windows” and the “Gate” and the galut being about the slow descent of the Windows creating a stark and terrible void, an absence of ruchniut--spirituality.
People don’t know their Torah. That is what “Darkness” is.
Sources: Excerpt from Rabbi Mendel Kessin's shiur, "Weekly Hashkafa Shiur #90: Rav Chaim Kanievsky ztl-A Living Safer Torah
Given: March 28, 2022, torahthinking.com
Update: He was murdered by terrorists Israel's intelligence agency Mossad launched an "active investigation" into the case o...
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"But I don't want to go among mad people," Alice remarked. "Oh, you can't help that," said the Cat: "we're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad." "How do you know I'm mad?" said Alice. "You must be," said the Cat, "or you wouldn't have come here."
